Audibles From the Long Snapper

In his weekly Tribune film study column, Dan Pompei does not an excellent job with the defense as he points out some deficiencies fans are willing to ignore (specifically at linebacker). His note on the safeties is most worth reading:

Brandon Meriweather's big hits are starting to make receivers look twice when they come over the middle, but unless he starts wrapping up, he is going to give up a lot of unnecessary yards.

On DeAngelo Williams' 26-yard first-quarter run, Major Wright could have had him after 3 yards and Meriweather could have had him after 12. Both missed. Wright also took a bad angle on Steve Smith after a catch, giving up 9 extra yards.

With the linebackers struggling to stay in their gaps the safeties are under pressure to make tackles. They are not getting the job done. Chris Harris' return can not come soon enough.

The Bears do not have a viable fourth linebacker on the roster currently and I would think the coaching staff is disappointed with the efforts of their second and third linebackers as well. If the Bears don't stop the run week-in-and-week-out, with their soft zone secondary, they'll never hold opponents to less than 450 yards.

"I think special teams is every bit as important as the other facets of the game," Aikman told "The Mully and Hanley Show" on WSCR-AM 670. "This guy has been a dominant player in that regard. He’s been the best there has ever been with the return game. And so I would say yes, he absolutely deserves consideration.”

The Hall of Fame, for any sport, is meant to be a collection of the greatest players. Not the great players. The greatest players. And nobody in the history of professional football has ever returned kicks/punts better than Devin Hester. Think about how many players can make that claim, that no one ever performed their athletic task as well as them. In the NFL currently, only four individuals can work their way into the debate: Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, Ed Reed, Hester. (Brady and Manning have more complicated arguments.)

If Hester retired tomorrow morning (and God willing he will not) he would be inducted into the HOF class five years from now when he became eligible.

- Agree that we need a healthy pisa back in there… he’s a difference maker
- Can we have Manning back? I bet the texans would give him to us at this point
- obviously on hester
- Also obviously that ache-for-man is a fucking enormous tool

Finally, it would be nice if this had the same national psychological effect as the 'revolutions' have in the middle east: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/politics/occupy-wall-street/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

(without the power vacuum and all the terrorist of course. what do you think Irish? Time for a toppling of the machine?)

hey Doc,
has the birthday boy broken any family hierlooms while practicing his casting in the house?
i got two weeks in the penalty box when my brother kicked a ball at me in the living room; and my hands failed me. It sailed through the fingers and broke the antique lamp on the piano.
naturally, my brother got off scott free
he played the" i am the firstborn" card
I called him, "mom's favorite" after that, with plenty of sarcasm

Excuse isn't the term I would use; maybe trigger is more appropriate.
The closest analogy I can think of would be domestic violence. You don't see too many a-holes beating up other men's wives. They are pissed off and direct it at something close and vulnerable that triggers some feeling of inadequacy about their own powerlessness.
So, no, I don't think it's an excuse, but it's sort of predictable.
Then of course you have the large percentage of any rioters that are opportunists in any environment of lawlessness.

Politically speaking, the funny thing is, I argue for a sane banking environment versus dismantling the economic system of the last fifty years and I'm considered the socialist in the room.
How the f-ck does that happen?

I talked to an old banker on my route last year, from ohio
he said that when he was the head of his bank; they lent money to build the community
and he accumulated his wealth over the lenght of his carreer
today, sadly he said banks are more interested in investment; than community building
and they want it all now
rebuild the firewall
clinton's biggest mistake, letting the sunset in on glass/ stiegal

one of my fellow carriers who is a libertarian to some degree came up to me today and asked me if I was happy about the 99%rs
Why? i asked
he reminded me that I have been calling for this since i read michael lewis's articles on the crash
several years ago
"h-ll no, I cried! I wanted to be retired by now, so I could go up and lend a hand. It looks like a hoot; and fall is a wonderfull time for camping. Plus I could take in a Ramble session at Levon Helm's barn while in the state."
that's a dream that remains unfullfilled

oh by the way ....there's a lotta longhairs in that 99%; it would make me feel like I was finally at home
looks like gill scott will be wrong on this one; the revolution may just get televised

On the last thread discussion of management and which teams are in which group:

Look, I understand we won't be happy until we win the big one. BUT SINCE 2005, WE HAVE THE SECOND BEST RECORD OF ANY TEAM IN THE NFC. JUST ONE OR TWO WINS WORSE THAN THE GIANTS!. We made the playoffs in 05, 06, and 11. We made the Superbowl one of those years and we very well might have won if not for the injured Mike Brown and Tommie Harris. We made the NFC championship game last year. We've had a top five defense multiple years. I can't remember which year, but I think it was 08 where we missed the playoffs by one game. You'll recall losing a game to Carolina that year that we would have won if not for two late Olsen fumbles. We lost a TB game because of a stupid Charles Tillman penalty. I swear there was one more game like that. Those are not on management. We lost Urlacher in 09. Take Ray Lewis out of Baltimore and they struggle too. The point is, in the NFL, the line between winning and losing is paper thin. We've won a lot under Angelo and Smith and we've been denied because of injuries and stupid player mistakes in at least two other years.

Clearly the management, and Lovie to a lesser degree, pisses me off. But to talk about this franchise in even the bottom 2/3 of the league over this timespan is misguided and entirely based on emotion.

Or how quickly a season can unravel for a uber-talented roster.
Every team you listed has been considered a perennial contender, with the exception of the Cards, and they were one toe-tap away from winning the Super Bowl a couple of years ago - or so my Madden 10 cover indicates.

Only one thing worth winning, Doc. And we don't have any of them under the current management. I'd rather be the like the 49ers, Cowboys or Steelers and have a bunch of Lombardis in the trophy case than be the Indianapolis Colts.

Actually (and this perhaps speaks more to the parity of the NFC during these years) the Bears missed the playoffs by not a lot in any of those 3 seasons:

In 2007 when everyone had already written the team off at 5-7, they actually were virtually guaranteed a playoff spot if they won out -- which they almost did (except for that depressing Thu night WAS game, and if they'd held onto a 4th quarter lead at MIN).

In 2008 obviously if they won at HOU in the last game of the season they go 10-6 for a wild card. Or they could have beaten MIN their 2nd meeting for the sweep and the division title... i.e. the game that got broken open by the 99 yard Berrian catch where Peanut slipped.

In 2009 the NFC was much better, as it would have taken a reverse sweep of the Fudge (Vasher not falling down in the first game, plus holding onto a 4th quarter lead in the second game), as well as beating ATL or ATL losing another game.

Not that any of that matters to your point. Missing the playoffs is still missing the playoffs. But other than maybe 2004, the Bears have always been competitive under Smith, even in their down years.

Considering our roster, I'm OK with Lovie. We could do better, we could do much worse. Pus nuts is an entirely different story. He has to be in the bottom 3rd of GM's in the league. Our draft picks overall during his reign are beyond horrible. That's job 1 for any GM.

Honestly I believe that until the McCaskeys are no longer in charge of the Bears there won't be any major changes in the front office unless the villagers are outside Halas Hall with pitchforks and torches. I think most can agree that a new GM might do wonders even with the current coaching staff in place.

Doc, I hear ya. The Bears are NOT a "bad" team and always seem to rise to the occasion, I was at that Tampa game BTW and yeah Peanut screwed us on that penalty. Mistakes will kill any team on the field, that's football. BUT...the Major Problem the Bears have is the front office.

If Skunk deserves to be in the HoF because he is the greatest to have ever played the position, by definition, the guy he is greater than should already be in the HoF. Eric Metcalf is not.

This is a snowball waiting to be rolled down the hill. As Metcalf assumed the mantle from someone, who assumed the mantle for someone else. You get the point. Some amends to be made when Hester is selected...which I am in favor of, bye the way.

Can we please stop mentioning NE for comparing management. There's only one or two other teams in recent history that has had their kind of success managerially. The 80's-90's 49ers and recent Steeler teams. Two of those teams had the two (in my opinion) best QB's of all time. Stellar QB play tends to veil other areas of weekness. Part of the reason Bellichick can do so much trading and moving and still succeed is because no matter who they bring in, Brady will take them to at least 9 or 10 wins just because he's Brady. If not for the Bledsoe injury, the guy might never have seen the field. It's not like they're Nostradomus. The other similarity is both Walsh and Belichick controlled the draft and the team. It's rare to find those types of people. Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson also comes to mind. And Jimmy J wouldn't have had half his success if not for the idiotic Viking management who took Hershell of their hands. My point is, you can't measure against anomolies. I see Walsh and Belichik as anomolies.

Hey Doc just to follow up, Cycle Oregon was great. I've never seen such a high percentage of women on a bike ride. It must have been close to 50% ladies. Of course, a bunch of them were playing for the other team. Food wasn't as good as the last time but the route was great and the bands/beer tent every night was fun.

I think Doc's point is simply if you can everyone that doesn't measure up against a stick like that, your football team is going to suck big donkey balls and your fan base is going to be sorely disappointed.

I don't think the four of us, at least, are disagreeing in any material way.
You want to have a great front office; however, it's unfair to can someone for not being Belichick.
It IS fair to can someone for not solving some of the persistent personnel issues that have been building with this team.
The proof will be in the pudding: it is up to the guys on the roster now to put up or shut up for the next 13+ weeks.

alot of our deficiencies have been against superior teams
should we factor in team talent when figuring these rankings somehow?
i still do not believe we are that bad in both categories and will be suprised if we are not somewhere in the middle in 3 weeks

I looked farther down and didn't see anything. I'm not saying Briggs and #54 haven't made some plays, obviously they have. However, we're getting gashed constantly in the running game. Some of that has to fall on those 2 guys. They're making tackles but it's 10 yds past the line of scrimmage. Not good.

Briggs has not been up to snuff this hear IMO, Artoo. But he has set a high bar for himself.

Urlacher is playing well this year. He may end up being like Ray Lewis in terms of playing a long time and remaining one of the very best in the league. To paraphrase 'Lach, experience makes up for declining physical skills.

There will come a point when the physical decline is to much to overcome, but he is definitely NOT there yet.

well Pat Kerwin, of nfl.com
on his weekly visit to the local espn radio station in swfla
pretty much trashed our chances this weekend
he said the only aspect of our game that is better than Det. is forte
the linbackers got a push
he expects us to get clubbed

i suppose now i shouldn't bother tuning in to my first bear visual of the season... HAH
I believe the lions will get an opportunity to taste their first defeat on monday if:
we run outside and make the D- line chase us instead of cutler
we use a short passing game- no 7 step drops
we move the pocket and make them run after cutler, instead of into
his pocket
we put our best corner on tron; no matter where he lines up
we hit tron so hard early that he thinks about pain when catching the ball against us in the future
if there are three guys on him in the end zone...one drop of and wait for the ball to touch his hands and unload on the mother of all hits
we hit stafford hard early so he feels pain for the rest of the game

the lions have had way too much energy in the second half... we need to exhaust them early; take the sting out of them
let them know that they will have to improve if they are going to get over on us when we meet again
we have not rolled a good game yet this year; and the time is now, to shed this crappy national image we have created for ourselves

miller and moulton in the afternoon
both men are as big as linemen
they know football well
spend alot of time doing live remotes; like in kim beaucampers ? the dx-dolphins taveronie
the gryehound track etc.
heavy on the gambling

Remember the song "Taxman"
well the boys in California at the largest medical mary-jane clinic in the bay area are being railroaded by the feds under some phony draconian tax laws; to the tune of $2.4 million.
TAXMAN bah hum bugger

Here's some irony on the mary jane front. Obama said he was going to ease the Fed's crackdown on medical pot, but the DEA under his leadership has been more aggressive than Bush.
In the Supreme Court case Gonzalez vs. Raich, all the left-wing justices invoked the Commerce Clause to convict a person who grew a few pot plants, with concurrence from Scalia. They claimed it was interstate commerce to grow a few ;plants. Justice Thomas had a great dissent. Here's some excerpts:

Respondent's local cultivation and consumption of marijuana is not "Commerce ... among the several States."

Certainly no evidence from the founding suggests that "commerce" included the mere possession of a good or some personal activity that did not involve trade or exchange for value. In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of marijuana.
”
If the Federal Government can regulate growing a half-dozen cannabis plants for personal consumption (not because it is interstate commerce, but because it is inextricably bound up with interstate commerce), then Congress' Article I powers -- as expanded by the Necessary and Proper Clause -- have no meaningful limits. Whether Congress aims at the possession of drugs, guns, or any number of other items, it may continue to "appropria[te] state police powers under the guise of regulating commerce."

If the majority is to be taken seriously, the Federal Government may now regulate quilting bees, clothes drives, and potluck suppers throughout the 50 States. This makes a mockery of Madison's assurance to the people of New York that the "powers delegated" to the Federal Government are "few and defined", while those of the States are "numerous and indefinite."

Wow. I'm the opposite of an apple fanboy. I've never owned anything apple but a Mac CII in the 80's and a workout ipod, but what an immeasurable impact Jobs had on ALL technology and specifically all software. Moment of silence.

RIP Steve, you were one amazing dude: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/steve-jobs-apple-ceo-dies/story?id=14383813

I know the Patriots have been great the last ten years, but I'm tired of hearing about it. They've had a winning record each of the last ten years, and made the playoffs eight times.
The NFL has a lot of parity. They won 3 Super Bowls by a total of 9 points! Hell, they wouldn't have made it past round 1 for their first SB without the "tuck" rule. They lost another SB by 3 points after going 18-0.
That's a great record, but they aren't Artoo. They haven't won the SB in six years, and haven't won a playoff game in 3 years. Just sayin'.

Now, you can argue that none of those kickers belong in the HoF so maybe ST PoWs don't mean much. But I'd retort that 1) you don't game plan kickers, and 2) those kickers got kudos for doing their job under pressure and not for performing exceptional feats beyond basic expectation. Hester's repeated recognition however comes from exactly performing exceptional feats AND in spite of being game-planned against.

I'm back in Nebraska this week, so I can't complain - been in the low 80's during the day. I prefer that low 60's mild weather though. I think I'm going to take the family for a drive back in towards the Shenandoah valley this weekend. That is some pretty country.

And what THE f-ck is wrong with the reply function in this code? It works every other time I log in. How hard it is to have a usable comment feature in a primarily blog website?